The Ancients
by Misaratis
Summary: Danny's secret is reviled, only, it's been done as a carefully constructed web of lies. He has been thrown from his home, his town, even his own body. Will Danny be able to brave the obstacles before him, or will his soul be lost forever?
1. Chapter 1: Emergency assembly

Chapter 1

Danny Fenton, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley all sat next to one another in English class, listening to their teacher Mr. Lancer drone on about a project none of them where paying any attention too.

Danny opened his eyes wide in an effort to keep them from closing completely. Tucker sat rubbing the dreariness from his own face and yawning. Sam on the other hand, had more than enough work to stay alert, making sure that her two best friends wouldn't fall asleep. Her efforts were in vain as she too felt the heavy weight of slumber tugging and at her sluggish thoughts.

Soon a ruler slammed down on the Goth girl's desk, startling both her an the two boys on either side of her to wake from their slumber. Danny gripped the side of his desk and said quite loudly "Get the thermos." before he fully processed where he was. This was met by a sea of giggles and laughter from the turned heads of everyone else in the class.

Mr. Lancer opened his mouth but couldn't voice a word before he was interrupted by the school loud speaker crackling to life. It was the principal's voice that was heard, she said "An emergency assembly has been called. Would all students a faculty members report to the auditorium immediately." The crackling stopped indicating the end of the short announcement.

Lancer looked in to the relived students faces as the class got up to leave. He sighed and turned to follow his curious group of teenagers out in to the hall, locking the classroom door on his way out.

Soon all the students were settled in to the auditorium, the large room filled with puzzled chatter. Danny sat with his friends on either side of him, the three teens exchanged little more than confused looks before the principal calmed the school. Wordlessly she left the podium and held up a hand to make way for a student. She was mediocre looking with shoulder length muddy blond hair and bright blue eyes. She went in Danny's grade but they shared no classes together, neither did Sam or Tucker.

The girl cleared her throat and smiled "Good morning fellow students and teachers. For those of you who don't know me, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jessica Madeline Samson. You all must be curious as to why I have called you here and curious as to why this could not wait until a later time. Well," she breathed "perhaps it is appropriate to start with ghosts. As you all know this town of ours is continuously attacked by many and varied ghosts. But what you all don't know is that there are other species of ghosts that exist. Most of them remain hidden or in the ghost zone. One of these species are known as The Ancients." Danny looked at his friends, unsure of where Jessica was going with her speech. Few people knew of The Ancients. Danny thought about Clockwork and the observers, he knew they were Ancients, but how did she know?

"The Ancients are all powerful, capable of feets far beyond that of normal ghosts. Some Ancients are good and have sworn long ago to protect humans and ghosts alike. Some, regrettably are not, their only goal is to spread deceit and chaos, and then feed off of it. This will come as shock to all of you, but I myself, am an Ancient." This earned a collective gasp from the audience. Danny grasped the edge of his seat listening intently on what she was saying. Is this true? He thought. Everyone mirrored his reaction, not looking away from the person before them.

"My name is not Jessica Madeline Samson, but it is Dolor." She rolled her 'r' when she pronounced her name. Then she did something no one expected would happen. She closed her eyes and as she did, she rose in to the air and hovered. A cocoon of what looked like liquid gold wrapped around her. Many people looked away due the intense light it produced. When she emerged, she was taller. Her blond hair had become orange and ethereal and her mundane clothing had been swapped for a single shoulder white gown with a golden band creating an empire waist. When she opened her eyes they had changed to match her hair.

Instead of landing back on the stage, her now bare feet touched the podium where the microphone lay.

No one could believe what they were seeing.

When she spoke, her voice possessed the common echo that all ghosts had, it resonated throughout the large room without the aid of the speakers she had been using moments before.

"I would like to apologize to those that have befriended me here at Casper high, for the lies I told and made you believe. But you must know that I have come here for a reason, and the reason is to find and destroy an evil Ancient ghost that has taken control of the life and body of one of your peers." She stated boldly and calmly. Everyone tore their eyes away from the ghostly being and started looking at each other. Murmurs developed and quickly spread, yet remained hushed.

Danny was furious, with himself. Not only had this ghost escaped his ghost sense, but now another one? How had he not noticed? Sam put a hand on his shoulder. "When we find that ghost, we'll get him." She smiled reassuringly. Danny smiled back and unclenched his fists, which until that point he had not noticed he held so tight. The half ghost looked to both his friends and together they looked back to Dolor, expectantly.

Though their attention was stolen by Dash, who was now standing in the rows of seats "How do we know you're not lying?" he accused. "I bet Danny Phantom will come and kick your butt." He said with a little too much conviction. All the teens cheered in reaction.

To Dash's outburst Dolor only smiled "And how do you know that the one you call Danny Phantom is not the one that lies. Not the one that has played with your affections, and toyed with your trust." She responded calmly. Dash's cheeks reddened with embarrassment as he sat down, mouth dry and no come back in thought.

Danny's eyes became wide when he heard what she said. Who was she trying to convince? What was going on?

"Because it is Danny Phantom that has lied to you." she continued. "He is not who he pretends to be." She was starting to raise her voice now, anger seeping in to her calm poker face. "He is not the town hero that you have come to love. He is an evil, sniveling coward that resorts to hiding in human bodies. He is more powerful and corrupt than ghost king himself." Many people in the audience flinched at the memory of the ghost king. "He has killed many people and creatures since the dawn of time and beginning of worlds. I have hunted him for as long. He has now taken over the body of one of the students present." Danny's eyes were bulging out of his head. His mind was frantically trying to make sense of what she was saying.

Danny could feel fear slowly creeping up and laying heavily in his stomach as the all the students and teachers began to murmur in consent. He almost felt like he wanted to fly up above everyone and show them the truth, but how could he prove his innocence?

Danny was too absorbed in his own thoughts and worries that he failed to register his friends attempts to calm him down and as subtly as possible alert him of the fact that his eyes had turned green.


	2. Chapter 2: Reviled

**Hey, hey, hey. Stay out of my shed. You happy I've updated so soon? I know you would be. Aaaanyway, enjoy chapter two!**

Chapter 2

"Evil spirit, I now address you directly." Dolor announced. The audience was taken back, and looked to one another. Some of the students, delirious with fear, checked their own bodies for signs of ghostliness.

The lump in Danny's stomach grew heavier and he prepared to transform should the need arise.

Dolor opened her mouth to continue, "In the ghost zone, I have found the soul of the child whose body you stole. I have it here." She proclaimed as every eye that wasn't already looking at her, turned. The Ancient ghost stretched her arm in front of her and within her palm materialized a golden sphere, about the size of a tennis ball and matching the color of her transformation cocoon.

The room went silent.

"If you do not release the body of this boy," Dolor threatened and holding the sphere slightly higher "I will have to expel you myself. And I can promise you this: if I must do it, it will not be a pleasurable experience."

No one spoke a word. No one moved. No one took their eyes from the stage.

"I will give you until the count of five." She said, eyes shifting over the terror stricken humans.

"Five."

No one dared to move.

"Four."

The air was ripe with tension.

"Three."

Danny gripped the edges of his seat, knuckles whitening.

"Two."

Tucker and Sam looked to the ghost hybrid in-between them and then to each other. Their eyes met briefly before turning back to the stage.

"One."

Silence.

"You leave me no choice." Dolor stated calmly. For her next sentence, she raised her voice considerably and adopted an even grander and more commanding tone. "I give you, the true soul." Slowly, Dolor raised her arm over her head. She tossed the sphere a few centimeters above and letting it come down and balance unnaturally on her now flexed index finger. Every person held their breath, waiting.

Danny lifted himself slightly off his seat. Sam and Tucker put their hands in to their pockets, clutching the small portable Fenton ecto-weapons they had on them at all times.

For a few strained seconds, everything was still.

With one swift ark of her arm, Dolor brought the sphere down on the ground. In that small space of time, everything ran in slow-motion. Everyone in the audience was perfectly still, every pair of eyes trained intently on the small ball of gold falling towards the ground. That is, every person but three teens.

Sam and Tucker sprang from their seats, pulling out the weapons in their pockets and aiming them at the ghost on the stage. Danny stood and steadied himself in a fighting stance. He faltered for a moment, before beginning his transformation. A blue ring materialized at his midsection. Some people near the trio turned their heads, and promptly dropped their jaws.

The ring split, traveling up and down the hybrid's body. More people turned their heads and many leaned as far away as they could without falling out of their seats.

The sphere crashed on the ground, resembling the sound of breaking glass, but with a distant echo. Time sped up again.

When the sphere broke, it spit out a heavy wave of ghostly smog, too thick to see anything that might be inside.

Nobody was sure whether they should look at the ghost boy or the quickly settling smoke, though as soon as a silhouette could be seen from its depths almost all opted for the stage. There, right in front of the podium, stood a fourteen year old Danny Fenton.

**Enter stage right. Cliff hanger. Cliff Hanger walks to center stage and taunts audience.**

**If I ever write a play about my good friend Cliffy, it'll start like that. **

**Do you hate me now? I always hate authors who do this, I just never realized how fun it is to write cliff hangers! ERMYGERD I'm having a ball.**

**R&R people's. But on serious note, I love criticism. Its better for me to know what I can improve on than what I already do well. And a word for the trolls: If you burn, it'll phase right through me (Hah, see what I did there? Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. Nod, nod. Hint, hint. Yeah I know, I am nothing compared to the dry joke and pun prowess of Danny's writers.)**


	3. Chapter 3: Seperated

**Another chapter, another day.**

Chapter 3

Swapping his legs for a tail, Danny lunged at the spirit mirroring his image. It was probably a shape-shifter, Danny reasoned. The shape-shifter cowered and raised its arm in defense. This confused Danny for a moment, but he pressed on.

Curling his hand in to a tight fist, Danny pushed his arm forward and prepared his muscles for impact.

To the ghost hero's surprise, he felt no contact to his upper body. His stomach suffered the familiar blow of an ecto-blast, then a jarring crash to his spine. Dolor had shot at him, violently throwing Danny in to the wall at the back of the auditorium.

The halfa fell limply to the ground and groaned. "She's strong," he muttered as he gingerly rose from the floor "but not strong enough." He said, much louder, and dived back.

He was greeted by Dolor far above the ground. "You are not as strong as I remember. Have you already used too much of Danny's body's resources?" She asked accusingly.

"What?" The shape-shifter exclaimed, doing a very convincing job of looking genuinely scared.

"This is my body," Danny yelled. "I am not an ancient, I am not possessed, and that" Danny flung an angry finger at the shape-shifter "is not my soul." He finished, glaring at them both from his hovering spot over the audience. Every human in the room, except for two, was confused and did not know who to believe.

Dash, the ever loyal Phantom follower, cheered "We believe you Phantom." thrusting a fist in the air above him. This time however, he remained seated. The room remained silent and for the second time he sank back down, further than before, with a beat red face.

"It's time for me to prove my innocence" Danny proclaimed "and expose you for the lying fraud you are." He finished with a determined note. With his words in the air, the ghost boy again swapped his legs for a tail and dived toward Dolor.

Calmly the Ancient ghost brought a fist backwards and steadied her stance, or at least steadied it as much as she could while standing on the podium. Danny brought both hands in front of him and balled ecto-energy in his palms. When the young halfa was within range Dolor shoved her fist forward, which was newly incased in golden ghostly energy, in Danny's chest.

Danny felt a sharp electrical burn surge through his body. He yelped as he fell on the ground next to the shape-shifter. To his astoundment Danny saw his human half fall between them. Both he and the ghost impersonating him looked up to the Ancient ghost. The fear that griped Danny's heart and made his blood race seemed to be replaced by cautious hope in the eye of the shape-shifter.

An evil smile graced the lips of Dolor for a small second before she turned to the fake Danny and nodded. En eager grin split the face of the impersonator. He raised himself up slightly and hovered in the air shortly. Danny watched in dismay as he swooped around and plunged in to Danny body.

All life and movement stopped. Just eyes, nothing but large staring eyes.

Danny tried to raise himself off the stage, as he did so a stab of pain rippled outward from his midsection. He clutched his stomach and grunted, supporting himself with on hand. Unfortunately his support gave way and he fell back on his back. Lethargy scratched the perimeter of his mind and blackness tugged at the edges of his flickering vision.

Dolor ignored him as she jumped off the podium with an inhuman lightness that could only be possessed by ghosts. As she moved the warm tendrils of her otherworldly hair licked at the air around her. She stood over Danny's human form, shivering as it lay sprawled on the stage. When she bent down and touched its shoulder, it flinched.

Carefully the ghost turned him over on his back and checked his pulse. "Does it feel good to be back in your own body?" she asked warmly. In a normal situation her voice would have been quiet, even though the ghost in Danny's body was less than a meter away she continued to project her voice throughout the auditorium so everybody could hear what she had said.

Denny could do nothing but helplessly watch as his head nodded slowly and produced a weak smile. Dolor was not facing him so he could not see her face until she stood up and turned to him. Danny wished more than anything that he could call to his friends, to his family, to his teachers, to anyone that might listen.

Dolor approached Danny's limp ghostly form laying on the stage. She took hold of the front of his hazmat suit and lifted him so their heads were level, even though Danny did not have enough energy to raise it.

"This" the Ancient ghost boomed "is what happens to those with evil intentions." Using her free hand she lifted Danny's head by the chin so she could look squarely in his eyes. _There's that smile again._ Danny noted weekly in his mind. This time her smile became one of triumph.

"By the power invested in me, I sentence you to trial in front of the council of elders." Dolor commanded. She smirked at the panic that flickered across Danny's features as she let his head fall.

Dolor created an identical sphere the to one Danny's impersonator had been in. Holding it in her forefinger and thumb, she pressed in against Danny's forehead. In much the same way as the Fenton thermos, Danny was sucked in.


	4. Chapter 4: Enter the parents

**I'd like to make the chapters longer from now on, so that unfortunately means that the updates might slow a little bit. I will still try my very hardest to put out at least one new chapter within seven days of the previous.**

Chapter 4

Dolor slowly raised herself from her crouched position by the slightly charred circle on the stage. She looked out over the mass of humans, some were confused, some looked horrified and some wrapped themselves in their own arms and the arms of their friends.

Dolor saw Dash, he had both hands pressed against his ears and seemed to be muttering something.

Then there were young Danny's friends, so loyal, so loving. They wore looks of utter shock and disbelief. They had lowered their weapons and stood with slouched shoulders. Dolor examined the Goth girl's eyes and noted that they were edged with the prospect of tears. The other friend cast his glance down to his shoes, no doubt to hide the expression that the Ancient ghost guessed was defeat.

Many of the teachers had amusing reactions. She saw Mr. Lancer, the boy's English teacher, sitting in the back with the rest of the faculty. The man's was mouth hanging loose along with countless others. To Dolor's inward mirth, fear shone in his eyes. Dolor had expected he would show a certain amount of determination and worry for his student's wellbeing. However it was just as satisfactory, if not more, to see fright.

Dolor relished in the anguish the humans felt for their fallen hero. She allowed the painful feelings to wash over her, swallowing wave after wave greedily.

As a whole, Dolor had not been all to surprised at how easy she had won the crowd over. They were humans after all, and humans were always quick to abandon beliefs and support in favor of self-preservation.

Dolor crossed the short distance to Danny's body, where her minion now resided. With her spectral power, she sensed her minion's manifestation in the human's body and was pleased to discern that the connection was stable, for the time being. That would mean, as long as she kept feeding her minion energy, he would be able to stay in the body and remain there completely concealed.

Slowly, Dolor raised the boy up to his feet. Her minion had made the body effectively unconscious and therefor limp. In order to walk with a straight back, she shrunk her body down to a more teenage height. With one final look at the ocean of wide eyes and one final taste of misery and confusion, she turned both her and the boy invisible and intangible and flew out through the ceiling.

Jack and Maddie Fenton were in the basement lab of their home, working on a new invention. Maddie carefully installed the ecto-filter and ecto-containment unit in the new gun they were working on. Jack sat beside her and hummed happily as he painted the smooth metal plates, the last components to be drilled, glued and welded in to place. Despite common belief, it had always been the large, clumsy half of the ghost hunting duo that had the daintiness required to paint each and every weapon, doohickey and thingamabob they created. It was a guarantee that whenever Maddie picked up a brush, she and everyone else in near vicinity would be stained, if not covered in paint.

"I have it." Jack shouted triumphantly, thrusting his fists into the air and jumping up from his seat. Maddie, who had over the years become quite desensitized to Jack's unexpected outbursts, had been expecting one from her unusually calm husband for quite some time.

"You have what dear." She said so absentmindedly that it didn't sound like a question in the least. Half of her attention on the array of tubes and wires pooling out from the weapon she was constructing.

"The Fenton Specter Killecter." he stated proudly. Maddie then looked up from her work to stare at her husband quizzically.

"The Killecter?" she asked, baffled. "You can't kill a ghost." She stated. "And where did the 'ecter' come from?" she added in afterthought.

"The Fenton Specter Killecter." the large man corrected, putting emphasis on the family name. "I put the words 'kill' and 'detecter' together. Since that's what it does." He pronounced triumphantly.

"Wait, that's no good. You can't kill a ghost." He grumbled to himself, apparently oblivious to what his wife had said moments previous. Jack slowly sunk back in to his seat, a little dejected. His humming was replaced with a furrowed brow and concentrated murmuring.

Maddie turned back to the weapon on the table. She held up one of the many instruments on the table to continue her fiddling and fine tuning. Just as she was about to slide a wire in to place and unexpected sound rattled her. The doorbell had been rung.

Jack threw himself forward and up the stairs, shouting a quick "I'll get it." Maddie followed him for the short distance with her eyes before turning back again. To her surprise she heard her husband's worried voice from upstairs.

"Mads, you better get up here." He yelled urgently "Now." he yelled louder. Maddie thought she detected a hint of fear in his voice. Without a second thought, she raced upstairs to be met with a mother's worst nightmare, her husband was helping a strange woman place her unconscious son on the couch.

"What is going on here?" She exclaimed, rushing over to her boy. She stroked his face and looked over his limp form, then turned to the woman. It was obvious she was a ghost, but still unlike any ghost she had seen before. The ghosts eyes looked from father and son to the worried mother crouched on the floor by the couch.

She spoke with an experienced and commanding voice, though it was tinged with sorrow. "First, this is none of my doing." The ghost insisted.

Maddie reached under the couch to retrieve a stashed ecto-bazooka and stood in a fighting stance. "We want answers." she demanded.

"You bet we do." Jack added, assuming the same posture as his wife. The large ghost hunter pulled out a small ecto-gun from one of his many jumpsuit pockets and held it with both hands.

Maddie clenched the handle of the heavy bazooka, doing all she could to stop her trembling hands.

The ghost woman lifted her wrists in front of her, in the same manner one might surrender to handcuffs. "If it would put you at ease," she started "you may bind me. I am just as worried about your son as you are."

Maddie and Jack's eyes flickered to one another. The three of them stood tensely for what seemed like an eternity. Maddie was the first to break the silence "Jack," she said slowly "get the Fenton anti-ghost rope." Jack hesitated, and then found the inner resolve to leave the living room and get the rope from the lab.

In Jack's absence, to two women had no one look at but each other. Maddie kept a stern and warning gaze trained at the ghost, daring her to move. Maddie's deep hostility was returned with a calm mask of a face.

From the depths of the basement there was a sound of glass crashing to the ground. Quickly after, Jack returned with a glowing blue rope in his hand and the contents of a test tube spilled down the right leg of his jumpsuit.

"Right, let's get this over with." Jack said bluntly. "Mads, I'll tie her up then you take the rope. I'll carry Danny up to his room so we can watch them both at once." Maddie nodded and watched as her husband moved closer. The last time she had seen him that serious was when she had been pregnant with Danny, and before that, Jazz.

Slowly Jack bound the ghost's outstretched wrists together, and then folded them to her chest. He circled around the ghostly woman until he ran out of rope, and then he tied a secure knot on her back.

"That should do the trick." he stated and leaned back to admire his handy work for a fraction of a second. With her husband's approval, Maddie lowered the dangerous gun and walked up to the ghost.

"Jack," Maddie interrupted her ghost hunting partner's movement, maybe we shouldn't move Danny. Jack looked down at his son and decided that his wife was, as per norm, right.

Another silence was created between them, however this time it was more awkward than anything ells.

It was the ghosts turn to speak first "Perhaps we could sit down so your questions can be answered." she offered. Neither parent was happy that the ghost had spoken out in their own home, but agreed none the less.

With rigid and strained movements, Maddie led the ghost to a chair and took a seat in the one of the twin armchairs that was not filled by Jack. They both turned to ghost the expectantly.

"My name" she said "is Dolor."


	5. Chapter 5: How can we trust you?

**Hai, me again. Sorry about the chapter being up so late, I'm just getting over the terrible cold I had. Weird thing though, my cheeks and face were super flushed and I obviously had a temperature. But when Mom checked, I was normal. *Shrugs* whatevs. Problem was, it was like the cold just sucked all the creativity from my mind. All my will to write just vanished.**

**So it looks like this chapter will be a whole chunk of speakings and talkings and suchings. It's not filler or anything, just stuff that needs to be said and reactions that need to be showed.**

Chapter 5

Jazz sat in the library with a small group of friends. The red head was disturbed from her studying when an alarm sounded from one of her friend's phones.

"Sorry guys, I gotta' jet. Football practice starts in twenty." The upbeat brunette announced to the other three girls at the table, already starting to pack up her things.

"I'll walk out with you." Jazz said, too packing her things. She looked up at the large clock that hung on the far wall of the library. It read three-thirty. The group of four split, each half waving and calling out goodbye's to the others.

Once outside the library, both girls walked together in to the parking lot. Jazz was rummaging through her backpack's pockets in search for her keys while still maintaining a conversation with her friend. Jazz barked a triumphant laugh "There they are." she said holding the keys in the air to attest to her statement. Despite her organizational skills being far superior to many of her age and above, her keys still fell in the familiar trap of 'lost in the purse' that plagues all women.

Jazz unlocked her car and opened the door. "Can I give you a ride?" she offered.

"Nah that's fine. The walk over is a nice warm-up." the friend replied happily, hugging Jazz. "Bye" She said as the parted "And have a nice weekend." She called over her shoulder as she started walking away. Jazz reciprocated with her own wave and smile "See you on Monday."

Driving home, Jazz hummed cheerfully. Fridays had become her favorite day of the week, not because it was the last day before the weekend, but because she had two free periods at the end of the day. She and her friends had unofficially made a study group, meeting in the library every Friday afternoon.

Soon the unforgettable shape of the ops center could be recognized, the large structure looming over the smaller houses. After parking and locking her car, Jazz stepped toward the front door of her home. Her parents should be home, the red head reasoned, so she tried the handle. The door opened.

As soon as the young adult stepped in to her home she knew that something was very wrong. A heave atmosphere hit Jazz heavily, pressing on her shoulders. There were soft sobs ringing in the girls ears, sobs that she assumed was, and hoped was not, from her mother. Mind quickly numbing, Jazz ran in to living room to see what had happened. If her mother was crying, something had to very wrong.

The site that confronted her was not a pretty one. Danny was either sleeping or unconscious on the couch, she hoped for the former. An uncomfortable lump settled in her stomach as she stared at her brother's limp form and deathly pale skin. A million questions swirled in her head, most of them queasily focusing on Danny and his secret.

Her mother was hunched over in one of the large arm chairs and her father was perched on the arm rest, holding around his wife. Maddie had failed to notice the new arrival, however Jack had. Carefully he removed a patting hand from his wife's back and wordlessly beckoned Jazz. On stiff feet, Jazz took a few shaky steps towards her father, but soon froze.

There was a woman sitting on a chair at the other end of the room. Jazz locked eyes with the woman, even in her state of shock, it was plain that the strange woman was a ghost. She was tightly bound in glowing blue rope, unmistakably of her parent's invention. Though it was her hair that captivated Jazz the most, Jazz had seen more than enough ghosts with flaming heads, but her hair was different, possessing a strange purity.

Her father softly cleared his throat, bringing Jazz's attention back to him "Jazz," he said, deep sorrow in his voice and eyes. Hearing the sound of her daughter's name, Middie's flushed and tear stricken face shot from her hands, startling her husband. She ran up to her daughter and embraced her tightly, a new wave of tears flowing down her cheeks. "Oh Jazz," she moaned "something has happened to Danny. He-" she chocked and completely broke down for the second time that day. Intense emotions coming back and bringing a wave of tears with them and. Maddie crushed her daughter in a hug with renewed strength, motherly instincts seeking to protect her children.

Jack noticed Jazz's involuntary pained expression and stepped over to the two women, tentatively prying his wife from his daughter. "He's fine now," Jack assured both, even if he had already repeated it to his wife several times "just asleep."

Jazz looked from her father, to her mother and to the ghost, finally landing once again on her brother. She swallowed and found a small scrap of her voice to use "Will someone tell me what's going on?" she whispered, numbly walking over to sit by Danny feet, afraid of the answer she might hear. None of the others in the room was yielding of any information.

Jazz turned to the ghost, trying to discern anything from her face, but was met with nothing but blankness. "What's going on?" Jazz repeated. "What happened to my brother?" she said louder, the smallest bit of hysteria leaking in to the words.

"Shall I explain?" the ghost offered, surprising the young adult with the fullness the echoed voice held. To Jazz, it seemed like a voice that had existed for a long time, which was not entirely inconceivable, seeing that it came from a being that could exist, as far as humans knew, indefinitely. The two ghost hunters nodded, the largest of the pair leading the other back to the armchair. Jazz turned back to the ghost expectantly.

"My name in Dolor and I am an Ancient ghost." She said. Jazz looked at her, the bluntness of the words striking her heavily. "Meaning that I have existed since the dawn of time and long before mankind." The red head remained where she was and said nothing, staring intently at the so called Dolor. The lump in her stomach only grew with each uttered word. The young adult was unsure whether to be happy about the news or not. Danny had told her about the Ancient ghosts and Ancient ghost communities. He had assured her that of all the ghosts in the ghosts zone, of all the ghosts in existence, the Ancients were trustworthy. However, this one seemed strange and dark. Jazz had always been a parson of logic, nonetheless she had learnt that ghosts obeyed a logic yet to be fully understood. Constantly pressing and passing boundaries that were previously considered impossible. Danny and his half ghost status was excellent example of broken boundaries. Due to this, she had learnt to trust her gut more than her mind, and at that point, her gut said not to trust Dolor.

"Your brother has been possessed by the one that has become known here as Danny Phantom." The ghost stated bluntly. The information caught Jazz utterly off guard.

"Wha-what?" she stuttered, her calm demeanor shattered "But that's impossible. Danny was never possessed by-" she stopped. Jazz knew it would be best for the situation and everyone involved if she gathered information before blurting out anything she shouldn't. She smoothed her expression once again. If this ghost could hide her true emotions, she could too. In the back of her mind she placed a reminder to call or meat with Sam and Tucker later. Her gut had obviously been right, there was something wrong with this ghost, and they were going to get to bottom of it.

Ignoring Jazz's outburst, the ghost continued "You may find this hard to believe, but Danny Phantom is an evil ghost." She said boldly. Jazz was careful to keep her face still, emulating the ghost's masked features, however she was unable to conceal a small grimace. She did not trust the ghost before her and refused to give her the slightest leverage.

"Danny Phantom is a new name he has chosen for himself. He has travelled through time, assuming new identities and taking hold of human bodies. Unfortunately, in order to take these bodies he must first remove whatever soul rightfully belongs there." Jazz mind raced, dissecting everything she said and trying to find fault in her lies.

"This 'removing of souls' is not an easy procedure and often leaves the soul damaged. Luckily for Danny, his soul was already partly separated from his body in the ghost portal accident. So-" Jazz interrupted Dolor "How do you know about the accident?" she questioned.

With almost unnatural calmness, Dolor answered "To fully understand that answer, you must first know more of the story." Jazz stared coldly in to the Ancient's eyes and said with every speck of mistrust she could gather "Continue then." Another lump dropped in her stomach.

Dolor cleared her throat "So Phantom was able to remove his soul without any complications." Jack interrupted next "Where's Danny soul now?" The uneasy father pressed the words out his beyond worried lips.

"I found him." Dolor answered him with a reassuring smile. "Phantom left Danny to wander the ghost zone, without a stable form alone. About five months ago I chanced upon him and naturally helped him. He told me what had happened, about his life and so on. You should be quite proud of your son, most people would lose their mind such a position." Dolor looked over at Danny "For one so young, to possess such inner strength, such resolve. But I don't need to tell you to be proud of your son." Dolor finished quietly.

A new silence came after Dolor's last words. Eventually the air grew stale with the lack of movement and conversation. Jazz had decided not to speak until she could talk to Sam, Tucker and if he was able, Danny. Jack and Maddie sat together, both adults stiff.

Slowly, Maddie sucked in a long and raspy breath through dry lips. Without moving, she whispered, taking long pauses between each word "How can we trust you?"

Dolor's answer came smoothly and gently "You can't," she said "but you can trust your son. When he wakes, ask him." Her blunt words settled in the air around the small group. Instinctively, the three conscious Fentons looked over to remaining one. As if on cue, the young boy stirred. With all the Fentons preoccupied, Dolor for only a moment allowed an evil smile to split her face. Danny's eyes flickered opened, or rather, the ghost that was pretending to be Danny pretended to wake. In reality he had been listening to the entire conversation.


	6. Chapter 6: Dolor's lair

**Hey there, me again. Sorry this was running a bit late, but my teachers a really working our butts off. I feel like a promised you super-fast uploads at the begging and then I slowed down majorly. For that I apologize, from now on I'll be updating once to twice a month.**

**You know, I seriously swear that all the teachers gather together in their break room and conspire against us. I bet they all say stuff like "Hey, I'm going to give my class a test on Friday."**

"**Oh cool, how about I tell them do to a two-thousand word essay for Friday too."**

"**Hey you guys, you have stuff on Friday? How about I schedule an oral presentation for Thursday. Oh and just for kicks, I'll tell them it'll be worth a third of their final grade. Mwahahahahaha!"**

Chapter 6

The ghost groaned with Danny's voice as every Fenton crowded him. Maddie cupped his dreary face as Jazz crouched next to his face. Jack stood over the three of them with worry and hope etched in to his face. "Danny?" the distraught mother asked with a painfully dry throat.

"Hey Mom." The ghost said tiredly. Hearing her son's voice brought tears to the woman's eyes. She brought him in to a tight hug with the others following suite. For a moment, Jazz had forgotten of her suspicions and held her brother. Though the girl's sensible mind overruled her emotions to remind her of the matter at hand. She pressed against her father and felt his weight leave her back as both her parents pulled from the hug.

Jazz looked long and hard in her younger brothers eyes, she could see nothing out of place in the deep blue circles. This fact both brought a wave of relived and troubled feelings. Her brows furrowed as she said "Danny. You need to tell us what happened." Her tone was serious as she continued to stare at the person she thought to be her brother.

The boy took a deep breath "Well, uh" his eyes flickered to Dolor "You remember that accident with the portal, when it first turned on?" The others nodded yes "Well that kinda' sent me in to the ghost zone." He rubbed his arm and stared at the ground.

"Oh my poor baby boy!" Maddie exclaimed and once again embraced her son. "We are so sorry. Nothing will ever hurt you again." She stoked his hair as she promised his safety.

"Mom." The ghost half-heartedly pulled the woman from him. "I'm fine, really. After wandering around the ghost zone for a bit Dolor came and helped me. She saved me." At these words they all turned to the mentioned ghost. Jack spoke "Is that true?"

"Yes." Already before her husband spoke, Maddie was on her way to untie Dolor. The words of their son had completely convinced them of the ghost's innocence, despite their fast habit of hating every ghost they came across. Once free of her binding, Dolor stirred in her chair and rubbed her sore arms, she released a calming sigh. "That feels better."

"We're sorry for tie-" Maddie was silenced by a hand in the air. "Please don't apologize." The Ancient ghost insisted. "Your reasons for doing what you did were legitimate, understandable and need not be forgiven." She fixated a kind smile on her face. At that point, and much to the surprise of the others in the room, she stood up. "I can see that you all would probably like some time in private. May I use your portal to return home?"

"Wait, don't go." Danny's voice was week. Dolor stopped and looked her minion in eye, past the mortal mask _Don't over sell it._ she warned. "Don't worry," her kind facade unwavering "I'll be back to check up on you. Right now you are stable, but don't push yourself. Rest." He remained silent _I said not to over sell, but don't undersell either._ That time she allowed some of her anger to trickle through their mental link. To herself she cursed the uselessness of her minions. Without further objections, she left the room. Jack followed her down to the basement, telling his wife he would open the portal for her.

Once down in the lab, he pressed his thumb against the small scanner by the large and heavy metal doors. When the portal was opened, Jack found himself without words. He wanted to express his thankfulness for saving his son, at the same he wanted to apologize for the way he had treated her. Seeming to notice his discomfort, the ghost walked over to him. "You did the right thing." She then turned to leave "Oh, before I forget. Jazz had some contact with Phantom when he was in your Danny's body. She may be suspicious of me, so be patient with her. I the four of us work together, I'm sure she will see the truth."

I took a moment for Dolor's words to sink in, but when they did, one word resonated. "Phantom! Where is he?"

"Please Jack, I have him." The large man looked at the petite, however tall form. He wondered how she could have beaten the ghost he considered his greatest adversary "You can be sure that he will be dealt with justly. His crimes are great, and my punishments always reflect that." Dolor's forceful words eased him.

"Thank you." He said solemnly. With his small statement of appreciation as a send of, Dolor lifted herself off the ground and floated in to the glowing green vortex.

Inside the ghost zone, Dolor flew quickly. She passed many doors and small plateaus of floating ground. The swirling air around her had the strange ability to seem completely flat and infinitely deep at the same time. The Ancient ghost used a combination of teleportation and super speed flying to race through the ghost zone, reaching the very edge of the in less than thirty minutes when most ghosts would traverse the distance in several days. Almost every time she flew to her lair, she gave a silent thanks to these powers, for they were what granted her permission to reside I the desolate outskirts of the otherworldly domain.

Soon, she came upon a door. It was very small and matt, as to not reflect the light from the spontaneous sources littering the ghost zone. She loathed being disturbed, and did everything she could to make her lair unnoticeable. She had acquired a reputation for doing a lot of underhanded dealings with ghosts and granted "favors" to many. This naturally attracted much unwanted attention. It helped to move far away, then only the truly desperate would come to find her. Desperation was her favorite emotion, she loved to roll the taste on her tongue, feeling the tortured fear ooze from her visitors.

When she touched the handle, it grew to a size big enough to admit her entrance. Once inside, it shrank again. She landed silently on the cold stone floor and began to walk down the long maze of hallways, littered with doors leading to other universes and wall torches. The hallway had and medieval tone, one she had adopted after spying on the humans in that time period. The maze was yet another way to deter the unwanted, many giving up and going back outside. Sometimes though, they would get lost and wander the hallways until she came to pick at and devour their withered souls.

After just over ten minutes of walking and taking shortcuts only she knew of, Dolor came upon another door than was identical in size to one at her lair's entrance. This door however looked to be made of soiled gold, with intricate designs engraved. In the same manner as before, she entered her inner sanctuary.

The room was small and cozy, much like a warm library. There was green fire burning in a fireplace giving light to the soft wall to wall carpeting and large armchairs. Every piece of the wall, save for the fire place, was covered in shelves and the lists in between were made of material matching the door. Upon these shelves sat small translucent orbs resting on short pedestals. In these orbs were miniature people, most were sitting or lying down while others slammed their fists against the barrier and yelled at the figure walking past, even if no sound would escape in to the main room.

Dolor moved towards one of the walls and held out both hands. In them a golden ball materialized. Handling it with care, she placed the orb on a pedestal marked in cursive gold painted letters _Danny_. The moment her fingers left the surface, the ball turned translucent like glass to reveal a sleeping teenager. The ghost smiled evilly as she looked down at the white haired boy as he stirred. Dolor turned her head to the ball next to Danny's. It's pedestal bore the name _Finn_. Dolor looked down at Finn and said "Hello there little hero. I've brought a friend for you."

Finn, as he had since his capture, used his sword slam against the inside of his orb. He yelled something at the overbearing ghost and continued his fruitless attack. Through the noise, Danny woke and looked around, startled.

"Good morning sleeping beauty, finally up?" Dolor cackled and said. Danny tried to yell, but just like every other captive, none of his words escaped his imprisonment. "I can't hear you." The ancient ghost sang. "Now listen Danny, I'm going to tell you something very important. So you might want to listen. On the inside of your sell facing the wall, there is a small window. With this window you can see what my minion is doing in your body." At this Danny turned around. Flatly on the surface of the ball, what looked like a screen flickered on. The ghost boy looked on as he watched his family huddle around and talk with himself. Danny watched in horror as his mother hugged the imposter and his father slapped him on the back. His eyes fell to Jazz, she looked confused.

"Your entire family thinks you're safe with them, after a dreadful two years in the ghost zone." Danny turned back around and glared at her. "Oh don't give that face. The scary eyes won't change anything." She pretended to turn around "Oh, one more thing." The ghost said over her shoulder "I am going to make you a promise to you. In one month's time, you will be dead." The moment the words left her lips a timer appeared under the screen, contend down the seconds, minutes and days until the end of one month.


End file.
